The Abandoned Prison is a storm-wrecked jail sitting just northwest of Fort Amol, on the far side of a waterfall on the White River. Floodwater has swallowed most of it, the guards fled long ago, and the only residents left are the ghosts of the people who never got out. It is a small, moody detour that pays off with two good books and a surprisingly well-told little story.
What you’ll find
- Only one route through the flooded interior is open, and it leads straight into a cell block patrolled by three ghosts.
- A key on a table at the back of that first room opens every locked cell (expert locks) – and, later, a master-locked chest too.
- A cell with a broken wall lets you slip into the neighbouring cell block. Another ghost waits up the stairs on the far side.
- At the end of the hallway, a room on the right holds the chest with Song of Hrormir leaning against it.
- Notes that tell the story: Guard’s Orders (the guards were told to evacuate before the storm took the tower) and Prisoner’s Plan near a skeleton, describing a planned breakout.
- A trap door in the last cell on the right of the first block drops you outside – next to the skeletons of prisoners who clearly didn’t make it far.
Notable items
- Song of Hrormir – Two-Handed skill book, by the master-locked chest.
- The Legend of Red Eagle – in the same room as the guard’s note.
- Brief History of the Empire, Book I.
Tips
Grab the key before anything else: it saves you from fighting an expert lock and a master lock with a handful of picks. Read the two notes in order and the place stops being a random ruin and turns into a tiny tragedy. Followers often can’t find a path to the entrance and will sulk on the other side of the river; if one gets stuck, fast travel back here, swim across and lead them out by hand. And a word of warning for compulsive pickpockets: reportedly, robbing the ghosts can earn you a hired-thug contract signed simply “Ghost”. Some people are touchy even after death.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Fort Amol, Cradlecrush Rock, Lost Knife Hideout, Hillgrund’s Tomb, Mixwater Mill.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.